Quaba Venza Ernest ’19

Quaba Venza Ernest ’19  is a St. Lucian-American dancer, choreographer, musician, filmmaker, and teacher, originally from Brooklyn, New York.

Ernest began his training at Dance Theatre of Harlem under the direction of Arthur Mitchell and later Robert Garland. He graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia Arts High School before attending the Purchase Conservatory of Dance, where he was selected as a recipient of an Adopt-A-Dancer Scholarship and The Thayer Fellowship in the Arts for Choreography/Dance.

He began his career at Ballet BC in 2019 and later began working with Doug Varone and Dancers in 2021. 

Ernest is a performer, teacher, and collaborator with the Dual Rivet, a dance company co-founded by Jessica Smith ’17 and Chelsea Ainsworth.

He has danced in works by Kimberly Bartosik, George Balanchine, Ronald K. Brown, Sidra Bell, Norbert De La Cruz lll, Sharon Eyal, Johan Inger, Loni Landon, Sidi Larbi, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Ohad Naharin, Staycee Pearl, Crystal Pite, Jerome Robbins, Ted Shawn, and Medhi Walerski.